In the Name of God, the Most Compassionate, the Most Merciful

Statement by the Delegation of the Islamic Republic of Iran

to the UNGA 75 First Committee

Thematic Discussion:

Conventional Weapons

------------

Mr. Chairman,

My delegation associates itself with the NAM statement delivered by Indonesia.

Mr. Chairman,

Regarding conventional weapons, the Islamic Republic of Iran reaffirms the sovereign inherent right of any State to acquire, manufacture, import, and retain conventional arms for the legitimate purpose of its self-defense and security needs. However, sharing the concerns over increasing global military expenditure in our world which is over-armed and peace is underfunded, we are deeply concerned about the continuous flow of sophisticated offensive conventional weapons into the volatile region of the Middle East, in particular to those who are engaged in aggression against other countries and violation of international humanitarian law, specifically Israel and Saudi Arabia. It was exactly for the sake of preventing the occurrence of such crimes that Iran has been insisting on prohibiting the export of arms to aggressors and foreign occupiers that has exacerbated the security situation, especially in our region.  

As for weapons trade, the Persian Gulf states accounted for nearly one-quarter of global arms imports during 2014-2018, almost doubling on average compared to the preceding five years. Unsurprisingly, the United States sold most of these lethal arms. But the real question is: have these vast U.S. arms sales to this region recovered anything even remotely close to the 7 trillion dollars that President Trump himself has acknowledged as having been wasted in our region since 2001?   

Enjoying the abundance of wealth brought by petrodollars, some believe that everything can be bought. Certainly, arms can be purchased in abundance. Sadly, even some foreign policies can be bought by the highest bidder, too. But a lesson from all developments in our region is that security and regional stability cannot be purchased.

Despite being surrounded and affected by such a situation, the Islamic Republic of Iran continues to have one of the lowest levels of military expenditure in a region. As a country actively engaged in multilateral fora to manage the side implications of conventional weapons towards international peace and security, we strongly believe in the necessity of prohibiting the export of arms to aggressors and foreign occupiers; intensifying efforts to prevent illicit trade in small arms and light weapons; considering the importance of the full implementation of the ITI and the PoA; a transparent and thorough discussion within the UNGA on humanitarian concerns about the military applications of certain new and emerging technologies and open to equal participation of all States; the strict observance of the inherent right of any State to security and self-defense; reducing global military expenditure; and finally,responsible production and transfer of conventional weapons to meet the actual and legitimate security needs of States.

Thank you, Mr. Chair!